Motorcycle s and hand holding
by mayleebaby28
Summary: Owen offers Leslie a ride home, which neither of them are quite prepared for.


Leslie had grown up. She had always been the smartest in the group, which made up for her being the youngest. She was 15 now, and she was just as tall and developed as Joni. She was sauntering down the hall ways of her high school arguing with her mother on her cell phone.  
"Mother, I can not walk home. It's far too hot to be outside for such an extended period of time. No, don't worry I'll just take the bus or something. I love you too." She hung up and angrily shuffled things around in her locker. "Yeah, I'll take the bus and catch influenza. Or some other virus." She muttered, shoving a book into her back pack.  
"Hey, Less." Suddenly beside her there was a tall lanky boy. She looked up to see his face in slight shock. He was getting quieter when sneaking up on her.  
"Don't call me Less. I despise nicknames." She mumbled, just as she did every other day.  
"Oh, come on, It's not that bad. I could have called you a lot worse things." Owen smirked, crossing his arms.  
"Owen, what do you want?" Leslie asked, slamming her locker and swinging her bag onto her shoulder.  
"I heard you talking to your mom on the phone. I was going to offer you a ride home." Owen shrugged, holding his backpack strap with one hand and shoving the other one into his front pocket.  
"Me? Get on that death trap? No, I'll catch a ride home with Joni." Leslie was about to turn away when Owen spoke again.  
"Home with a wicked cold." He said.  
"Santiago then." Leslie said, though Santiago wasn't her first choice for a ride home. His car was a gas guzzler, big and clunky. Leslie hated that.  
"He caught a cold from Joni. They were sucking face all day yesterday. It was bound to happen." Owen shrugged, watching Leslie freeze in her tracks. She slowly turned back around and glared at him. "It's me or the bus Less." He smirked.  
"Ugh." Leslie groaned, but still she followed Owen when he motioned for her to do so. She followed him to the front of the school and scanned the parking lot set out before them.  
"Where did you park?" She asked.  
"Over here." Owen took her hand, which she despised, but didn't protest. He led her to a corner of the parking lot where his motorcycle was parked. It was a Harley Davidson, green, black, and details in chrome. Leslie thought it was one of the more beautiful vehicles in the parking lot. Owen spent every day after school polishing and taking care of it. It was his baby.  
"Here's a helmet." Owen passed her a black helmet, to which he had one to match. She reluctantly slipped it on. Owen hopped on and turned to look at her. He could see she was frightened at the thought of getting on his bike.  
"Come on, Less. It won't bite." He waved her over. She took a deep breath and swung her leg over the machine. "Hold onto me." Owen said, starting his bike. Leslie snaked her arms around Owen's middle. She felt his firm stomach under his thin shirt. She wondered when he developed abs, especially with how many sandwiches he ate. "Ready?" He asked. Leslie took a deep breath and nodded into Owen's back. He turned forward and drove over the curb and grass.  
"Are you crazy?!" Leslie yelled over the wind.  
"Yes! Hold on!" Owen turned right as a light was turning yellow and sped down the road. He set a wicked smile on his face and began weaving between the telephone poles on the side of the road.  
"Owen, you're going to kill us!" Leslie yelled, holding Owen tighter.  
"Calm down. I know what I'm doing." He said just loud enough for her to hear. He swerved back into the street and zig zagged up the street.  
"Owen! I swear if we live through this I will kill you." She growled in his ear. The feeling of her breath on his ear felt nice. He sighed and slowed down for a moment. They were on a quiet road, a park on one side and an empty parking lot on the other. He twisted into the parking lot and stopped. He shut off his bike and yanked his helmet off. Leslie followed suit.  
"Why are we here?" She asked, shaking her hair out.  
"You're scared, aren't you?" He asked, putting his kick stand down and getting off the bike.  
"No. But you're driving like a maniac." Leslie said, swinging her leg over and sitting sideways to face Owen.  
"You were scared." Owen smiled smuggly.  
"I was not."  
"Admit you were and I'll drive normal the rest of the way." Owen said.  
"Ok. Yeah, I was." Leslie sighed, frustrated.  
"Less, I'd never do stuff like that with you on the back if I didn't think I wasn't in control." He sat down beside her. Leslie sighed deeply and pulled her knees up to hug them to her chest. Owen slung his arm around her to be sure she wouldn't fall backwards off the bike. "What's wrong?" He asked.  
"Remember last year when I told you guys that my grandfather died of a heart attack?" She asked.  
"Yeah."  
"He was actually killed in a motorcycle accident. Ever since then, I haven't even been able to look at a bike." Leslie leaned into Owen.  
"Less, if I'd known-"  
"It's ok. I-I didn't want people to know." Leslie stood up. Owen let his empty arm come to rest on the seat beside him.  
"Why?"  
"When tragedy strikes, such as a car accident, people treat you with more sympathy. Like you would just burst into a fit of sadness any moment. But, approximately 680 people die from heart disease ever day. It's not as big a deal."  
"Less, It was a big deal. You really loved your grandfather." Owen said, standing up and taking a step towards her.  
"But I didn't want people's sympathy. Every day, people would look at me differently. It's sad to walk around and people give you sympathetic looks. It, it makes me sad." Leslie sighed, her arms flopping to her sides.  
"Less, come here." Owen held out his arms for her. She blinked at him in surprise. "Come on. I won't hurt ya." He said. Leslie snaked her arms around him.  
"Thank you." Leslie mumbled.  
"Hey, do you have to go home right away?" He asked, resting his chin on top of her head.  
"No, I suppose not." She mumbled back.  
"Let's go grab a bite. My treat." Owen suggested.  
"Alright." Leslie buried her head in Owen's chest. He smelled of pizza and cigarettes.  
"Are you smoking again?" She asked, looking up at him.  
"Just once. This morning." Owen sighed.  
"You said you were quitting." Leslie rolled her eyes and stepped away from him.  
"I found one in my room. I couldn't just throw it out. They're too expensive." Owen said, reaching for his helmet.  
"You need to quit. I'm serious. Do you want me to show you what a smoker's lung looks like again?" Leslie asked, grabbing the other helmet and slipping it onto her head.  
"No, dude, it's gross." Owen made a face as he started his bike. Leslie got on the back and hugged Owen from behind tightly. "Ready?" He asked, twisting his head around to catch a glimpse of her.  
"Ready." Leslie said. Owen sped off and turned out of the parking lot. Leslie screamed around the sharp turn.  
"You're ok, Less. Just trust me." Owen took one of his hands and placed it over hers. She sighed and loosened her hold on him. He took his hand and placed it back on the handle bar. They were just around the corner from Owen's favorite pizza place.  
"Hang on." Owen called to her. He turned right onto a busy street. Leslie squeezed Owen's torso. He to his hand and laced his fingers with hers. She wanted to yank her hand away, but she didn't dare. He gave her hand a quick squeeze and put his hand back on the handle to turn into the pizza place parking lot. Once parked, Owen pulled his helmet off and caressed Leslie's hand.  
"You ok?" He asked, waiting for her to let him go.  
"Yeah. Just give me a minute." She said, pulling her arms back, releasing Owen.  
"Come on, I'm starved." Owen said, reaching for her hand. She let him lead her inside before saying something.  
"Oh, and for your information, the whole hand holding thing? Its not ok. I will snap your wrist." She said.  
"Right." Owen quickly dropped her hand an shoved his hand into his pocket.  
The two of them procceded to have some pizza, Leslie had two, Owen had four.  
"Kick ass pizza. Tell Mario I said so." He told the waitress when she brought the bill. She laughed.  
"I'm sure he will love to hear that. You are his favorite customer." She said.  
"Come on, Less. Let's split. I'll take you home." Owen said, putting some money on the table.  
"Alright." She got up with him. The two of them went out to the parking lot.  
"You know, we don't live too far from here. I could hurry home and switch to my Dad's car and come back to get you." Owen said, leaning against his trunk attachment.  
"No, Owen that's way too much trouble." Leslie shook her head.  
"I don't mind. I'd do anything for you, Less." Owen said softly. Leslie looked up at him in awe. "You're my best friend." He said, reaching his hand out to her. She hesitated, but took it.  
"That's sweet, Owen. But I can handle being on the back for another ride." Leslie took a deep breath and nodded. She grabbed the helmet and put it on her head.  
"Ok." Owen nodded. He pulled his helmet on an roared his motorcycle to life. Leslie reluctantly got on the back. "Just hold onto me, every thing will be fine." Leslie nodded, squeezing her eyes shut. Owen drove out of the parking lot and down the street towards the residential area. The two of them lived close together, their back yards meeting at a shared fence. He passed his house and turned around two more turns. He searched for the house directly behind his own. He pulled in the driveway.  
"Home sweet home, Less." He said, pulling his helmet off and shaking out his hair.  
"Thank you." Leslie said, getting off of the bike.  
"No big. It's not like you live far away." Owen shrugged.  
"No, for being so nice to me today." She said, twiddling her thumbs.  
"No problem." Owen smiled. Leslie looked up at him. He was smiling his goofy smile, resting on the seat, but still straddling his motorcycle.  
"And for the pizza." She added, reaching in the trunk attachment and grabbing her bag.  
"Oh, I was going to get pizza anyways." Owen shrugged.  
"And," she was at a loss. She didn't want him to leave, but she didn't know what else to say.  
"Less." Owen tilted his head and looked at her.  
"Right, I'm rambling." She smiles and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.  
"Its cool." Owen waved her off. They stayed there in a few moments of silence until Owen spoke again. "I umm, I should probably get home." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder.  
"Right." Leslie sighed. "But, umm, before you go," she didn't know what possessed her to do what she did next, but she walked back over to Owen, leaned down, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She turned to go to her house.  
"Less, wait." Owen quickly kicked his kickstand down and ran after her. She turned around just in time for him to catch her lips with his own. It was sweet, but quick. Owen pulled away, searching Leslie's face for some form of approval. She looked down at her feet.  
"Leslie?" He asked, slight panic entering his mind. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Owen's mind went crazy for a moment. He let his hands rest on her waist. After a few moments, the two of them separated for air.  
"Please say something, I'm going crazy." Owen whined.  
"That was, really really nice." Leslie panted.  
"Yeah it was." Owen agreed. "So, what does this mean?"  
"It means the whole hand holding thing is acceptable from now on." Leslie sighed.  
"Stellar." Owen smiled. "Now I really need to go home." He held her hands in his.  
"Come over later. I'll help you with you math homework." Leslie called after him.  
"Narly. Girlfriend and a math tutor." Owen smiled, hopping back on his bike. Leslie waved as she watched him speed off down the road.


End file.
